The present invention generally relate to a push block, a scraping device and a method for collecting a material. The push block may be attached to an earthmoving scraping device and may allow the push block to maintain a clearance from the ground. The push block may have a bumper that transmits force to a frame of an attached scraping device. As a result, the push block may provide a mechanism that allows a scraping device to receive force from contact by an additional vehicle despite variations in ground clearance of the scraping device.
Earthmoving generally involves breaking apart soil of a construction area. The soil may be used in the existing project and/or hauled to a remote site. Like other construction projects, highway construction often requires breaking apart the soil of the construction area. The soil must be broken apart and removed before paving of a roadway. An area must be pre-treated to create a surface that is suitable for paving. If the area to be paved has soil, the soil may be broken prior to compaction or other processes. The soil may also be collected and moved to a different location.
Highways allow goods to be transported and provide economic stimulus to areas through which cars, trucks and other vehicles travel. Given such importance, building roads and maintaining existing ones are undertaken by national governments and/or local municipalities.
Removal of earth materials is performed by several different machines. The use of specific machinery is determined by the type of project. Several factors to be considered are the type of material to be removed, the distance the material is to be transported and/or the plans for the use of the material. Choosing the machine factors significantly into the costs of the project. Using the wrong equipment for a project results in delays that lead to significant expenditure of labor and/or money. As a result, the process of removing earth materials may result in an economic burden to the cost of the project. Therefore, construction projects require use of the proper equipment as well as efficient and successful performance of the equipment.
Typically, earthmoving equipment, such as scrapers, may carry large volumes of materials. The scrapers may be towed or self-propelled. One such scraper has a frame shaped like a bowl and a lip that serves as a wall to prevent soil or other materials from leaving the frame. To aid in removal and containment of materials, the lip may be attached to a cylinder which raises or lowers the lip. A blade is attached near the bottom of the frame and below the lip. As the scraper is moved across an area of soil to be broken apart, the blade of the scraper may press into the area of the soil, and the soil may be collected within the frame. The lip may prevent the material from exiting the frame during transport of the frame to another area. After the frame is transported to a desired location, the collected material may be deposited by lowering the lip to provide an open area to allow removal of the material from the scraper.
Many different types of scrapers are known, such as pull-scrapers, motor scrapers, twin-engine scrapers, paddle wheel scrapers, and auger scrapers. Transportation of the loads of these scrapers has always been subject to delays because travel of construction machines along unpaved roads may form road irregularities. The road irregularities, such as sunken tracks or grooves in the road, may cause scrapers to get stuck in the channels. It may be difficult to remove the heavy, material-filled scrapers after the same become stuck. A stuck scraper may cause efficiency problems because the project is delayed, and construction ceases until the scraper is unloaded and freed. Further delay may be incurred because many models have rudimentary push block systems that impede efficient removal of a stuck scraper. The rudimentary push block systems have an altered height of the bumper as a result of the scraping device being in a hole or on a bump, and thus, a height of the push block may not allow the other vehicle to push upon the push block. Therefore, continued scraper operation determines productivity of the scraping device. A stuck scraper that is not freed from the road irregularity that impedes travel may slow down the progress of any project, may cease progress of the project and/or may increase the likelihood of cost overruns.
Additionally, the rudimentary push block systems are fixedly attached to the frame of the scraping device so that raising or lowering of the frame to adjust ground clearance of the device also raises or lowers the bumper. Raising or lowering of the bumper may preclude an additional vehicle from contacting the bumper to exert force upon the scraping device. Therefore, scraping that requires additional force is hindered by the height of the bumper preventing contact by the additional vehicle.
A need, therefore, exists for a push block, a scraping device and a method for collecting a material that allow earthmoving equipment to function in a reliable and/or efficient manner in collection and/or removal of materials.